In 2023, AMC’s Anne Rice Immortal Universe shared an exciting new update. A Night Island series was in the works. At the time, the information we received didn’t promise this would be a show all about Devil’s Minion, that is Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat‘s Armand and Daniel Molloy. But Anne Rice fans know that Night Island is the name of the palatial complex featured in the book Queen of the Damned, which Armand and Daniel built together and played out many of their romantic, psychosexual, twisted, and adorable dramas. So, it would be silly, really, not to center them. Alas, 2023 was quite some time ago. And while Talamasca, the other Anne Rice Immortal Universe show announced alongside Night Island, has been released and canceled in these last years, we have not heard much, if any, news on the Armand and Daniel show. But during our conversation around The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice Immortal Universe producer and head Mark Johnson offered us at least a POSITIVE, if still vague, status update.
Night Island Is Getting “Closer” to Us
With a grin, Johnson shared of the Night Island series’ current state, “We’re getting closer.” And hey, at least that’s directional in the way we hope to hear. Johnson wouldn’t say much more than that, but as compared to the last time we heard about Night Island, in the fall of 2025, it sounds more promising. At that point, Johnson merely demurred, saying they had several of Anne Rice’s books and other Immortal Universe projects in development and leaving it at that.
In many ways, though, it could be the perfect time for a Night Island series to arrive. As we mentioned, Talamasca ended up canceled late last year after a one-season run, leaving a vacancy in the lineup of the Anne Rice Immortal Universe. And, simultaneously, fans have never been more invested in the relationship between Armand and Daniel. Given the long canon history between them and the potential for Night Island to exist in both the past and the present storylines of the AMC series, it feels like there might be a lot to mine from giving the pair some screentime that’s all their own.
Recently, showrunner Rolin Jones shared that Luke Brandon Field, who perfectly plays young Daniel, would not be in The Vampire Lestat/Interview with the Vampire season three. But that he might be back for season four/”the future”—hinting at the idea that more past scenes of Daniel and Armand exist than we know of presently. In the meantime, Armand and Daniel’s present-day The Vampire Lestat storylines are inextricably bound together, given their relationship as Maker and Fledgling. Whether the Night Island series would center on Zaman and Field or Zaman and Bogosian, or preferably, all three—we know it would be a hit.
What Do We Already Know About the Anne Rice Immortal Universe Night Island Series?
To refresh everyone’s memories, here is the initial description of Night Island released by the AMC Anne Rice Immortal Universe. Night Island was said to be “a six-part series with ‘short-form’ episodes that will probably be about 10-15 minutes long. It will be written by Interview with the Vampire series writer Jonathan Ceniceroz. The story will follow human burglars who attempt to steal a valuable painting from the island. What they don’t realize is it’s home to a coven of the undead.”
At the time, AMC even released some Night Island key art, and Assad Zaman and Jonathan Ceniceroz both shared the image. Ceniceroz wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post, “Ikg fwd to sharing with you when the blood has dried… many new characters, a few bold choices… some expansions, contractions, amid a healthy dose of island weirdness and vampire hijinks we’ve come to love and respect…” Most likely, the series will have changed since then, but it does sound like the original version would also have been fun.
More About Armand and Daniel’s Island in Anne Rice’s Books
Additionally, we’d love to paint the picture of what a Night Island series might bring. Here’s a little bit of Night Island context from Anne Rice’s writings that we at Nerdist have shared before:
Many years into the relationship between Armand and Daniel, Armand decided to become “incalculably wealthy.” Using his knowledge of where old ships with treasure lay at the bottom of the ocean, he recruited Daniel, who now saw himself as “the Devil’s Minion,” to help him procure wealth. All while he was asleep during the day. With this fortune, Armand, with forged documents Daniel helped him create, purchased an island off the coast of Florida. Armand turned it into an entertainment and shopping paradise that came alive only after dark called The Night Island. (As Anne Rice shared, Night Island was “Armand’s own personal creation with its five dazzling glass stories of theaters, restaurants and shops.”)
Armand and Daniel lived at Night Island for years in the Vampire Chronicles. Daniel had everything he wanted from Armand, the finest clothes, the newest cars, all except the one thing he wanted most—to become a vampire himself. However, when Daniel’s life was in danger, on one of the many instances when he would run away from Armand, the 500-year-old vampire gave him what he wanted at last, and turned him. As Armand feared, however, making Daniel a vampire would only serve to drive a bigger wedge between them.
Of course, in the series, Daniel is already a vampire, although it is still fully possible that Night Island happened, but Armand simply removed the vision of it from Daniel’s memories. OR, Night Island COULD still happen, a refuge for Armand and Daniel that could come after the events of Queen of the Damned in the series. Like we said, in either case, we’re seated, and ready to party “from sunset ’til dawn.”
We could not imagine anything better than a series full of Armand and Daniel’s sometimes sweet snuggles and sometimes viciously petty spats.
It Could Be a Good Thing Night Island Has Been So Delayed
Ultimately, when Night Island was first announced, we had barely just met Armand in Interview with the Vampire, let alone understood his beautiful and complicated relationship with Daniel Molloy. Night Island would have been fun in 2023, but probably not half as meaningful. Although exploring Lestat is obviously central to the project of The Vampire Lestat, Armand and Daniel’s relationship is probably right up there in terms of importance. And so, more than ever, giving us Night Island now would make a lot of SENSE.
And hey, we are getting closer.
The Vampire Lestat airs at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC and AMC+. You can also read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice today as you wait for the next episode of the series to air.
Rotem Rusak is Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She is waiting for Armand and Daniel to finally get together so one of her canon ships can finally sail on The Vampire Lestat.
This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!